IRVINE, Calif. — Last Thursday Taco Bell launched the first items in its new breakfast platform. Eleven breakfast items ranging from 99 cents to $2.79 will be offered in 10 Western states.

The company plans to soon offer breakfast nationwide. Participating restaurants will open from 8 a.m. or 9 a.m., with breakfast ending at 11 a.m.

Brian Niccol, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer at Taco Bell Corporation said: “We’ve partnered with leading breakfast brands that consumers know, love and trust, including Johnsonville Sausage, which has teamed with us to create our signature product, a Sausage and Egg Wrap: a soft flour tortilla filled with savory sausage, fluffy eggs surrounded by melted cheese – all wrapped up and grilled. For those looking for more than a muffin, we feel they’ve met their morning match.”

The Irvine-based franchisor that manages 5,600 restaurants in the U.S. is a subsidiary of Louisville franchising conglomerate Yum Brands, Inc (NYSE:YUM).

Niccol noted that Taco Bell locations in the eastern states will carry breakfast in 2013. “This is a very important launch for our brand,” said Niccol. “While we’re beginning in the west, where people grew up with breakfast burritos, we plan to reach a national audience in the future, becoming a part of their morning routine, and truly opening people’s minds and taste buds as they begin to open their eyes and take on the day.”

Taco Bell has tested its Mexican breakfast menu in more than 150 stores in four markets: Bakersfield, Calif., Oklahoma City, Tucson, Ariz. and Dayton, Ohio. All participating restaurants will be equipped with full point-of-purchase (POP) advertising, including flutter flags, drive-thru picket signs, window clings and crew buttons. Radio remotes and free giveaways will be included in Taco Bell’s initial marketing mix.

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